This invention relates generally to a high-flexibility, lightweight, noncollapsing hose and more particularly to such a hose having a large size and particularly useful as equipment for draining a radioactively contaminated fluid through a noncontaminated, isolated and restricted space with high confidence against kinking, collapse, or leaking even with large relative motion between the inlet and outlet ends of the hose.
In the operation of nuclear facilities, such as nuclear reactors, processing plants for nuclear fuels and related materials, and chemical processing plants, for example, it is necessary to handle radioactively and/or chemically contaminated fluids which in many instances must be conducted, such as for draining purposes, through a noncontaminated, isolated and restricted space without contamination of the surrounding area. Conduction of such contaminated fluids through uncontaminated environments in practice requires the highest confidence that the hose will not kink, collapse, break, or leak even though the hose may be subject to a large amount of motion relative to the inlet and outlet ends of the hose. Any such breaking, or leaking would result in undesirable contamination of the area through which the hose passes which could result in major damage and/or in the requirement to shut down the operation for cleanup and decontamination processing of the area.
Additional problems are also encountered in processing plants for contaminated materials due to the fact that hoses conducting the contaminated liquids or gases pass through inaccessible, restricted spaces requiring extreme flexibility in the hose, but with the assurance that the hose will neither kink nor collapse to close off the flow.